1938.15.11

Collection type

Object

Description

Face mask from Okorosia play. [ZM 08/04/2013]

Long description

Face mask from Okorosia play. The ears, eyes and mouth are perforated, and the nostrils are carved out. There is yellow paint on the ears, with red at the hairline and the temples, and a black ridge running from the forehead to the bridge of the nose. Raised black triangles have been carved on to each cheek. The hair is stylized, and there are two figures on top of the head. [MdeA / CW 30 4 98]

Geographical reference

Nigeria

Africa > Western Africa > Nigeria

Southern Nigeria

Cultural groups

Igbo

Person

Field collector Gwilym Iwan Jones

PRM source Gwilym Iwan Jones

Date / Period

Date made: Before 1937

Date collected

1937

Acquisition information

Donated: 1938

Materials and processes

Material Wood Plant, Material Pigment, Process Carved, Process Painted

Dimensions

Length 375 mm, Width 140 mm

Object numbers

Accession number: 1938.15.11

Research and responses

For the donor's description of the Okorosia play in the 1930s when this mask entered the Museum collections see Jones, G.I., 'Okorosia' (by 'Daji'), Nigerian Field Volume 3 No. 4, pp 175-177 (October 1934) [ZM 02/05/2013]

For a description of the Okorosia masquerade (also known as Okoroshi, Okorosh or Okorosi) during the 1980s see pp 186-204 in Igbo Arts: Community and Cosmos, by Herbert M. Cole and Chike C. Aniakor (Los Angeles: University of California Museum of Cultural History, 1984). [ZM 10/07/2013]

Search terms: Mask, Dance, Dance Accessory